What you should know about NPA’s new MD, Hadiza Bala Usman

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday (July 12, 2016) appointed Hadiza Bala Usman as the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). The appointment was alongside that of Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko as Executive Director (Finance); Prof. Idris Abubakar, Executive Director (Engineering) and Dr. Sekonte Davies, Executive Director (Marine Operations).

The Federal Ministry of Transportation, Director of Communication, Mrs. Yetunde Sonaike confirmed the appointments in Abuja; however, attention has since been on the co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, Hadiza Bala Usman.

Hadiza, mother of two boys, was married to Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, an economic analyst and adviser to late President Yar’adua; and until her appointment was the Chief of Staff of Kaduna State and a very close associate of Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-rufai in the last 20 years.

Born January 2, 1976 in Zaria, Kaduna State to late Prof. Yusufu Bala Usman, Buhari’s associate who was also a staff of Ahmadu Bello University; Hadiza Bala Usman is a Nigerian activist and politician.

Hadiza obtained a B.Sc. Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in 2009, and a Post Graduate in Development Studies from University of Leeds, UK in 2009.

After her Youth Service in June 2000, which she observed in Kaduna and was paid some huge sum of money based on political interest, she started a Non-Governmental Organization, Centre for Democratic Development and Research Training (CEDDERT) as a Research Assistant, by July 2000, she joined Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) till August 2004 and served as Enterprise Officer before been hired by the UNDP for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from October 2004 to January 2008 as Special Assistant to the Minister on Project Implementation. She was Director of Strategy of Good Governance Group, a Non-Governmental Organisation from 2011 to July 2015 and appointed as Chief of Staff to Gov. Ahmed El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State, a position she held until the present appointment.

Hadiza replaces Alhaji Habib Abdullahi to become the first female boss of NPA.

While some have congratulated the 40-year-old politician, others see her as inexperienced and unqualified to occupy the post of Managing Director of NPA.

Many might not know that on April 2015, Muhammadu Buhari as President-elect under the All Progressives Congress appointed Hadiza Bala Usman as a member of his Presidential Inauguration Planning Committee. Her #BringBackOurGirls campaign, a crusade to advocate for the rescue of the abducted Chibok girls was once named in 2014 as an offshoot of the All Progressives Congress against the then ruling People’s Democratic Party.